An unintentional theme to our week has been “Exploring Belle Isle”. We have taken a trip to the island park four times this week so far. On Friday, Michala and Zephaniah joined me for a special Metro Detroit Youth Day ceremony. Saturday and Sunday, Travis and I took the kids to Belle Isle for a fun, family weekend.
This coming Sunday, we have another outing planned for the family. We’re attending the second annual Detroit Kite Festival. Last year, we had attended the event and we had a blast! This time we are prepared for the Kite Festival; I already ordered our kites so we won’t be scrambling at the last minute. #MajorMomWin
We had plans to attend Metro Detroit Youth Day, but we arrived toward the end of the event. Despite running late for MDYD, we still had a great time outdoors. I took the kids to play on the playground and then explore the nature center. The playground we went to is fairly new and is located in between the Belle Isle Nature Center and the Lake Muskoday Habitat Enhancement.
The playground at Belle Isle Park is located across from the golf course, too. It’s a small playground, but a perfect size if you’re looking for something that isn’t too crowded. The playground features a climbing wall, big tube slide, rocking boat (that my kids call a pirate ship), and a kid-size zip line. The zip line is Zhen’s favorite and Zechariah loves the big slide.
Since it’s been so hot outside, I have been working with the three little ones on drinking more water. Of course, Zephaniah is still breastfeeding so that’s how he gets the majority of his fluid intake. But I did introduce him to water a couple of weeks ago and he kind of likes it. I put a few ice cubes in a baby bottle and he will sip on it some.
For Zhen and Zechariah, I bought them water bottles at Walmart and I fill them with ice water. I was amazed that Zechariah was so excited to start drinking water from his new water bottle. I guess because it’s something new. Now he loves drinking water and I am so glad (and relieved)!
After our visit to the playground, we went across the street to the Belle Isle Nature Zoo. It’s a small nature center that is perfect for little kids. On our way to the nature center, we found a little library house filled with some books. We found a few to take home. Next time we go back to Belle Isle, we’re going to donate a few books from our home.
At the nature zoo, Zhen and Zechariah were excited to explore the nature center and count how many turtles they could find (because there were so many). I found the bees very fascinating. It was cool to watch the bees move about and not have to worry about getting stung.
We ended our day of exploring at the Belle Isle Beach. It wasn’t too busy since it was a weekday. I even found parking at the beach’s main parking lot! The kids played in the water and I played with the baby on the beach.
We stayed at the beach until sunset. It was a great escape from our busy week. Plus, the kids learned a lot about nature and other science topics!
Have you done any exploring this week?
xoxo
All images are courtesy of Jennifer Hamra.